While the entire country continues to struggle due to the various negative effects of the economic recession, even the nation’s most wealthy individuals have had their share of financial loss. The collective worth of the country’s 400 wealthiest people has fallen by $300 billion to $1.27 trillion, according to Forbes magazine.
 
This loss of wealth among the super rich has also lowered the threshold for the “super rich” designation to $950 million from $1.3 billion in assets. Forbes has reported that most of the financial loss comes from tumultuous capital markets and plunging real estate values, but a fair share of …read more

If you want your children to grow up to be shrewd financial wizards, you may consider letting them watch “The Secret Millionaire’s Club,” starring Berkshire Hathaway chairman and legendary billionaire Warren Buffett. Although the cartoon was supposed to be released three years ago, kids across the country will finally have access to a wealth of money tips courtesy of Buffett himself.
 
“The Secret Millionaire’s Club” is the main focus of a project that is geared toward promoting financial literacy among the earners and spenders of tomorrow. In the cartoon, Buffett will dispense plenty of useful tips that will help kids to …read more

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” holds a unique shareholder’s meeting each year for Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha.  This year, over 35,000 attendees (shareholders and reporters) listened to Buffett and Charlie Munger talk about the company and many other subject.
Buffett traditionally answers questions from attendees on a wide-ranging list of issues.  This year:

He shared his concern about the future of newspapers,
The possible nationalization of insurance companies.
Reflections on an upturn in the housing market, although at lower prices,
And the value of simplicity.  “If you can’t understand it, don’t invest in it.”

The people who bought derivates should have been listening to that …read more

Billionaire Warren Buffett recently said that the newspaper industry could face the reality of “nearly unending losses” during the annual shareholders meeting for Berkshire Hathaway. While his company owns a few newspapers, his comments paint the picture that he doesn’t see any type of short-term or even long-term turnaround.
The newspaper industry is facing a number of problems. First of all, the national economic woes has companies spending less on advertising, which means less money for newspaper advertising. Secondly, people around the country are opting to save money by canceling their newspaper subscriptions. Next, many other people have turned to the …read more

Wells Fargo (Ticker: WFC) is now the nation’s largest home lender. The California based company raced by Bank of America (Ticker: BAC) for the top spot.
In addition to dethroning Bank of America, Wells Fargo reported a $3.05 billion profit for the recently completed first quarter.
Today’s figures mark a 52 percent increase over last year’s results for the same quarter.
Wells Fargo reported revenue of $21 billion versus an expected $19 billion. The revenue is twice as much as the bank earned for the same period last year.
Undoubtedly, the Wachovia acquisition played a major role in achieving the past quarter’s results.
Shares of Wells Fargo …read more

I was reading my copy of Consumer Reports Money Adviser recently, and found and interesting graphic. It contained the results of a survey done by the publication of its readers. Here was the question:
Given the current economy, whom do you trust most for financial advice?
I thought the results were interesting:

24% trusted financial planners
11% trusted financial journalists
8% trusted the tax accountant
8% trusted Warren Buffett
1% trusted stockbrokers

I would trust a stockbrocker either. But most interesting to me was that 48% trusted “none of the above”. Hardly surprising in these times. It seems to me the best thing to do is to get …read more

I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful – Warren Buffett
Image source: Art Comment @ Flickr

With Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, in the news today due to its declining profits and stock value, I thought it might be an interesting time to take a look at a recent book by Jeff Matthews: Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha: A Hedfe Fund Manager’s Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. (Also of interest might be analysis of Buffett’s latest letter to shareholders.)
Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha
This book is an interesting first-person narrative of what it’s like to join the tens of thousands that descend upon Omaha to attend the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. It is …read more

Last fall, Warren Buffett made news with his multi-billion dollar investment in General Electric (Ticker: GE). Since his investment, GE’s shares have staged a steady decline from $25 per share into the single digit territory (view the chart).
But Mr. Buffett opted to purchase shares of preferred stock instead of common stock. Now, take a look at the chart which compares shares of GE’s common stock versus shares of GE’s preferred shares (Class A).
The preferred shares have suffered, but not nearly as much as the common shares. So what is it about preferred stock?
Preferred stock is often referred to as a hybrid security …read more

General Re Corp., which is a reinsurance unit of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to pay a $72 million fraud case settlement.  The company agreed to settle investors’ claims concerning its role in a fraudulent transaction involving American International Group Inc. (AIG).
On Wednesday, the settlement was announced by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who had led the suit on behalf of three different Ohio pension funds. The settlement will now wait approval of a federal judge in Manhattan.
The case was centered on a transaction with General Re that allegedly allowed AIG to improperly increase its loss reserves by $500 …read more